June Carter Cash

Country Musician / Songwriter

Born: 23 June 1929

Died: 15 May 2003

Birthplace: Maces Spring, Virginia

Best known as: Country music legend and wife of Johnny Cash

Name at birth: Valerie June Carter

June Carter Cash was the daughter of country music legend Maybelle Carter, the wife of Johnny Cash and the writer of the contemporary classics "Ring of Fire," "Jackson" and "If I Were A Carpenter." June Carter began performing with her sisters and mother in 1939 under the name of The Carter Family. (June's aunt and uncle, A. P. and Sara Carter, were also famous bluegrass and gospel stars.) During the 1950s, June went off to New York and worked as an actress, returning to Nashville to occasionally perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Carter married Johnny Cash in 1968 and together they performed and recorded for the next three decades. Her first solo recording, Press On, won a Grammy in 1999, and her last album, Wildwood Flower (2003, released posthumously) earned her two more Grammys.

Extra credit: The Carter Family helped Chet Atkins get his start in the country music business... June Carter Cash was married twice before her marriage to Johnny Cash: first to singer Carl Smith (1952-56) and then to Edwin 'Rip' Nix (1958-1966)... June Carter Cash was played by Reese Witherspoon in the 2005 film Walk the Line.